Tag Archives: professional

After writing her book The Book Whisperer, Miller noticed that several of her students who read in her class went back to reading less the following year. Her new book Reading in the Wild is a look at why that happens and how to create “wild readers” who are committed to reading and value reading.

This book is full of helpful resources in the form of handouts and real life examples. It caused me to do some self-reflection because as a “wild reader” I do all the items listed, but hadn’t really considered that most people do not. An example of this would be always having a book with me to read (either print or electronic). There is nothing worse for me than to be stuck somewhere bored.

Book Review:School Library Makerspacesby Leslie B. Preddy

I should warn you makerspaces are my new passion. Not an expert (more like a librarian stumbling around in the dark) but I got a grant, and my equipment is starting to arrive. Next year I’ll look at adding more. I started out small, but wishing now I’d gone ahead and asked for a 3D printer too.

This book is full of ideas for makerspace activities. The ideas have a secondary focus, but some of them could be easily adapted to a younger level. It broadly covers the concept of a makerspace and has a wealth of links and resources. I started using some of them immediately. These activities are great ways to get students involved and interested in what the library has to offer in the makerspace area. There is a big focus on re-purposing materials for fun projects, and I love that idea. Next year, I’m even going to do some makerspace challenges with parent/student teams.

If you have no idea what a makerspace is, than I wouldn’t start with this book. This book is more focused on ideas you can actually use in your makerspace. Here is the video I made for our students when introducing the concept of a makerspace: http://animoto.com/play/MZsswV1VX7fQhSlMqO3inw

Having just started a makerspace area in my library, I’ve added a link to our collaborative wiki on makerspaces. If you want more information, this is a good place to start. FYI if you have a library or a makerspace, feel free to join the wiki and share your ideas.

Nothing really to quote, but the back of the book has an invaluable list of websites for makerspace ideas and resources. Too many to look at all at once, so I put them into my Protopage and am slowly catching up.